Thornhill Academy (By Sheridan Hartin) novel Chapter 218

20:33 Thu, Jan 15

Thornhill Academy

The Trap Springs

Allison

We split before nightfall. Not all at once and not dramatically. Just a quiet, deliberate separation that feels heavier than any battle cry ever could. Vale oversees it with calm efficiency, her voice low and steady as she directs the non-combatants away first. Women with children, the elderly and those who can fight but shouldn’t tonight. Those whose lives are not meant to be spent proving something in blood. A small contingent stays with them, chosen carefully, people strong enough to defend, disciplined enough not to chase if something goes wrong. Some hug tightly. Some clasp hands and nod. Some can’t look back at all. I watch a young mother press her forehead to her daughter’s and whisper something I can’t hear, then turn away before her resolve breaks. I see an older man squeeze a fighter’s shoulder with a pride that hurts to witness. This is survival.

The rest of us turn back toward the old camp. Toward the place the Council thinks we are. The walk is silent. Boots crunch softly against dirt and leaf litter. Armour shifts with restrained movement. No one rushes, but no one drags their feet either. The sky bruises slowly toward dusk, pale gold bleeding into grey, then into something darker. Shadows stretch longer with every step, pulling at our heels like they know where we’re going. This is it. We stop just short of the tree line, where the forest thickens enough to swallow us whole. Branches knit together overhead, blocking the last of the light. The air smells like earth and pine and old magic. This is where we say goodbye. Kael is the first to reach me. He doesn’t say anything at first. He just pulls me into his chest and holds me tight, arms locked around me like he’s afraid the ground might give out beneath us. His heart beats steadily against my cheek. I breathe him in and try to memorise it. The warmth, the safety, the feeling of being held without needing to be strong.

“You’re going to be okay,” he says quietly, the words pressed into my hair, like he’s reminding himself as much as me.

“I know,” I answer, because if I don’t say it out loud, I might forget.

He pulls back just enough to look at Cassian. His expression hardens, his playful edges stripped away. He’s all hellhound and protector

right now.

“You don’t let her out of your sight. Not for a second.”

Cassian doesn’t hesitate. Not a flicker. “I won’t.”

Kael’s jaw tightens. “If anything goes wrong-”

“I take her and we get out,” Cassian finishes calmly. “You finish the war without us.”

Kael nods once, satisfied, then presses his forehead to mine. His nose brushes mine, his breath warm and familiar.

“I love you,” he says.

“I love you too,” I whisper, and mean it with everything in me.

Evander comes next. His goodbye is quieter, but no less intense. He cups my face gently, thumbs brushing beneath my eyes like he’s checking I’m really here. Like he needs to ground himself in the fact of me.

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20:33 Thu, Jan 15

The Trap Springs

“You stay steady,” he murmurs. “Don’t push past what you trained for.”

“I won’t,” I promise.

His gaze flicks to Cassian. “Same rules.”

Cassian inclines his head. “Same outcome.”

、(28)

Evander exhales slowly, then pulls me into a brief, fierce hug. It’s protective in the way only someone who has already accepted the worst

can be.

“We’ll be close,” he says into my hair. “You won’t be alone.”

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